Maternity Leave Incentive Scheme Yojana – Ministry of Labor and Employment has clarified about Maternity Leave Incentive Scheme. The Government has said that so far Maternity Leave Incentive Scheme (मातृत्व अवकाश प्रोत्साहन योजना) for the private sector has not been notified. Under this scheme, the government will pay the remuneration amount (पारिश्रमिक की राशि) for the 26-week maternity leave (मातृत्व अवकाश) payable to women.The Maternity Leave Incentive Scheme is still in the process of obtaining the necessary budgetary grant and approval of the competent authority.

Maternity Leave Incentive Scheme

According to the Ministry of Labor and Employment, the scheme has been approved or notified. The Ministry is currently in the process of obtaining necessary budgetary grants and obtaining sanction from competent authorities. The Maternity Benefit Act 1961 is applicable only to those establishments which employ more than 10 persons in factories, mines, plantation, shops, establishments and other institutions.

The ministry is working on an incentive scheme under which those employers will be paid back 7 weeks remuneration, who hire women employees with a salary limit of up to Rs 15,000 and pay 26 weeks of payday Maternity leave. Some conditions have also been fixed for this.

It has been estimated that by implementing the proposed Maternity Leave Incentive Scheme, the Ministry of Labor and Employment will have to bear the financial burden of about 400 crore rupees. The Ministry also said that the report of this effect is also wrong that the Maternity Leave Incentive Scheme will be funded from the Labor Welfare Cess (Cess), as there is no such cess in the ministry.

Highlights Of Maternity Leave Incentive Scheme

If the proposed scheme has been approved and implemented, then it will ensure that every woman in the country has equal access to employment, adequate security and safe environment.

Even women across the country will continue to take a bigger share of home care as well as domestic care.

All these workplaces will be more responsible for the family needs of working women.

The implementation of this scheme is good in the public sector, but there are reports that its implementation is not good in the private sector and contract jobs.

The Ministry estimates that the implementation of this proposed incentive scheme will result in a burden of about Rs 400 crore on the Ministry.